Preventive and Precautionary Measures of Security

Days before a big procession in Bhiwandi, the Sub-divisional Magistrate bans gatherings of more than a few people near the route. Nobody has committed any offence yet. Elsewhere, a neighbour who keeps threatening his co-owner over a disputed plot is asked to sign a bond that he will keep the peace for a year. The criminal law is usually about punishing what has happened; these provisions are about stopping what might happen. How far can the State go against a person who has done nothing yet, and what protects that person?

In two minutes

Chapters IX, XI and XII let Executive Magistrates and the police act before an offence occurs: by taking bonds for keeping the peace or good behaviour, dispersing assemblies, removing nuisances, issuing urgent prohibitory orders, settling possession disputes, and preventing cognizable offences.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Criminal Procedure Code 1973, Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and POCSO Act 2012 on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.